Archimedes (287–212 BC)

Abstract

Archimedes (ca. 287–212 BC) was born in Syracuse, in the Greek colony of Sicily. He studied mathematics at the Museum in Alexandria. Archimedes systematized the design of simple machines and the study of their functions. He was probably the inventor of the compound pulley and developed a rigorous theory of levers and the kinematics of the screw. He is the founder of statics and of hydrostatics, and his machine designs fascinated subsequent writers. Archimedes was both a great engineer and a great inventor, but his books concentrated on applied mathematics and mechanics and rigorous mathematical proofs. Archimedes was also known as an outstanding astronomer; his observations of solstices were used by other astronomers of the era.